'I will miss you, father': Khabib breaks silence following the death of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov

UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose father Abdulmanap passed away in early July due to complications stemming from a Covid-19 infection, has taken to social media for the first time since the tragic news.

Khabib, who has been off social media ever since his father's passing, broke the silence on Wednesday night. He posted a picture of himself hugging his father at UFC 242 – the only fight in which his father could corner him in his UFC career.

READ MORE: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of UFC champ Khabib, dies from Covid-19 complications

The picture was accompanied by a quote from the Quran in English, Arabic and Russian: 

"And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], 'uff,' and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, 'My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.'" 

Following the quote, Khabib added a message in Russian.

"I will miss you Father, you were a Father, a friend, brother and coach in one person. You taught me almost everything I know, I hope that you were happy with me. The contentment of parents is the contentment of Allah," read the final part.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a world-renowned mixed martial arts coach, died in a Moscow hospital following a heart attack on July 3, after being diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus. The heart attack required emergency bypass surgery, after which he was twice placed into a medically-induced coma.

The elder Nurmagomedov was buried in his home village of Kirovaul, in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan.